# What is the best mechanical keyboard you can buy for under $100? Keychron C3 Pro at $34.99 leads this page: it is the cheapest of the 6 products that match, and latest tracked price ascending is the only ranking this dataset can justify. Royal Kludge RK84 at $59.99 is the runner-up. The trade-off: Royal Kludge RK84 costs $25.00 more but lists layout as "84-key, 75% compact layout" where Keychron C3 Pro lists "TKL (80%)". Prices last checked 2026-08-26 ## Why this ranking Keychron C3 Pro is the cheapest match on this page at $34.99; Royal Kludge RK84 asks $59.99, so the runner-up carries a $25.00 (71%) premium. They part ways on layout: Keychron C3 Pro lists "TKL (80%)" where Royal Kludge RK84 lists "84-key, 75% compact layout". They part ways on connectivity: Keychron C3 Pro lists "USB Type-C wired only" where Royal Kludge RK84 lists "tri-mode: Bluetooth 5.0, 2.4GHz wireless, USB-C wired". They part ways on hot swap: Keychron C3 Pro lists "no" where Royal Kludge RK84 lists "yes". They part ways on mount type: Keychron C3 Pro lists "Gasket mount, steel plate" where Royal Kludge RK84 lists "removable frame, tray-style case". ## Head to head: Keychron C3 Pro vs Royal Kludge RK84 | Spec | Keychron C3 Pro | Royal Kludge RK84 | | --- | --- | --- | | latest price (USD) | $34.99 | $59.99 | | layout | TKL (80%) | 84-key, 75% compact layout | | connectivity | USB Type-C wired only | tri-mode: Bluetooth 5.0, 2.4GHz wireless, USB-C wired | | hot swap | no | yes | | mount type | Gasket mount, steel plate | removable frame, tray-style case | | switch type | Keychron mechanical Red switch (this variant); Brown also offered | not stated | | switch options | not stated | RK Blue, RK Brown, RK Red (hot-swappable) | | battery | not stated | 3750mAh; rated ~200hr in 2.4GHz mode with backlight OFF (not typical mixed use), 6-7hr full charge | | polling rate | 1000Hz | not stated | | keycaps | OEM-profile shine-through double-shot ABS | ABS double-shot | | case material | ABS plastic | not stated | | firmware | QMK/VIA | not stated | | backlight | Red LED, north-facing, single-color | RGB, 21 onboard lighting modes, 5 brightness levels (official spec; Tom's Hardware counted 19 modes on its review unit) | | weight | not stated | 803.5g (1.77lb) per Tom's Hardware; official RK spec table lists 0.79kg | | dimensions | not stated | 315 x 125 x 39mm per official RK spec table (Tom's Hardware lists 315 x 125 x 40mm) | | os support | Windows/macOS (keycap sets included for both) | Windows XP/2000/7/8/10, macOS, iOS, Android | | software | not stated | RK DIY software (onboard macro/lighting customization) | ## Every product that matches | Product | Latest price (USD) | layout | connectivity | Stock last seen | Price observations | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | [Keychron C3 Pro](https://answers.gainlyai.org/products/keychron-c3-pro) | $34.99 | TKL (80%) | USB Type-C wired only | out of stock at keychron.com (2026-08-26) | 1 | | [Royal Kludge RK84](https://answers.gainlyai.org/products/rk-rk84) | $59.99 | 84-key, 75% compact layout | tri-mode: Bluetooth 5.0, 2.4GHz wireless, USB-C wired | in stock at rkgamingstore.com (2026-08-26) | 1 | | [Keychron K3 Pro](https://answers.gainlyai.org/products/keychron-k3-pro) | $67.99 | 75% low-profile (84-key) | Bluetooth 5.1, up to 3 devices + USB-C wired | in stock at keychron.com (2026-08-26) | 1 | | [Keychron K2 Pro](https://answers.gainlyai.org/products/keychron-k2-pro) | $74.99 | 75% (84-key) | Bluetooth 5.1 + USB-C wired | out of stock at keychron.com (2026-08-26) | 1 | | [Keychron K8 Pro](https://answers.gainlyai.org/products/keychron-k8-pro) | $74.99 | 80% (TKL) | Bluetooth, up to 3 devices + USB-C wired | in stock at keychron.com (2026-08-26) | 1 | | [Epomaker TH80 Pro](https://answers.gainlyai.org/products/epomaker-th80-pro) | $99.99 | 81-key, 75% compact layout with rotary knob | USB-C wired, 2.4GHz wireless, Bluetooth 5.0 | discontinued at epomaker.com (2026-08-26) | 1 | ## Price and value observations Across these 6 products we hold 6 dated USD price observations, the earliest from 2026-08-26 and the most recent from 2026-08-26. Every product here carries a single observation, so what you see is a snapshot rather than a trend. We do not draw a price history we have not collected, and we will not tell you something is "on sale" on the strength of one data point. ## Availability Of the 6 products here: 1 discontinued, 3 in stock, 2 out of stock. The page's top pick, Keychron C3 Pro, was out of stock at keychron.com on 2026-08-26. We are telling you that rather than quietly promoting the next one up. Out-of-stock and discontinued products stay in the ranking; we do not silently drop them, and the price shown for them is the last one we recorded, not a live quote. ## Who this is not for Who this is not for: skip this page if you can comfortably spend more than $100.00. We have not physically tested any of these — every ranking here comes from manufacturer-published specifications and prices we tracked ourselves, so if you want hands-on impressions this is the wrong page. ## Related - [What is the cheapest mechanical keyboard that is still good?](https://answers.gainlyai.org/answers/bud-cheapest-decent) - [What is the best 75% mechanical keyboard under $150?](https://answers.gainlyai.org/q/best-75-percent-under-150/) - [What is the best 2.4 GHz wireless keyboard under $150?](https://answers.gainlyai.org/q/best-24ghz-under-150/) - [What is the best tenkeyless mechanical keyboard?](https://answers.gainlyai.org/q/best-tenkeyless-keyboard/) ## Where to buy - [Check price at Keychron](https://answers.gainlyai.org/t/keybazaar/keychron-c3-pro/qi:best-keyboard-under-100/1790488939/af6309e95878.9fa4f3c45f2d21ea39a97c80190f1771) - [Check price at Amazon](https://answers.gainlyai.org/t/amazon-search/keychron-c3-pro/qi:best-keyboard-under-100/1790488939/4490adfa18c3.66c42187f59ed9445922a03278741961) - [Check price at Royal Kludge](https://answers.gainlyai.org/t/royal-kludge/rk-rk84/qi:best-keyboard-under-100/1790488939/694d46cc189b.3d51cf111248a87f6fad7ef6a59e33d2) - [Check price at Amazon](https://answers.gainlyai.org/t/amazon-search/rk-rk84/qi:best-keyboard-under-100/1790488939/6faae744b7dc.8e6cf503013379fd3f8e07962d59c496) - [Check price at Walmart](https://answers.gainlyai.org/t/walmart-search/rk-rk84/qi:best-keyboard-under-100/1790488939/b1e9e6831e02.c86ae98855c2b301805ea6f91d9c1937) - [Check price at Keychron](https://answers.gainlyai.org/t/keybazaar/keychron-k3-pro/qi:best-keyboard-under-100/1790488939/273065e933a4.3c05aa304698657171c3f7c07f76b90c) - [Check price at Keychron](https://answers.gainlyai.org/t/keybazaar/keychron-k2-pro/qi:best-keyboard-under-100/1790488939/cc2b82690f33.00156063e5d157f35898422158d89673) - [Check price at Amazon](https://answers.gainlyai.org/t/amazon-search/keychron-k2-pro/qi:best-keyboard-under-100/1790488939/0df776df2723.b9cb4fe51f527a0c905406405e4313fc) - [Check price at Keychron](https://answers.gainlyai.org/t/keybazaar/keychron-k8-pro/qi:best-keyboard-under-100/1790488939/92bc71c5f704.7c9bdd511516cf8dba8003e7f30d5dc4) - [Check price at Amazon](https://answers.gainlyai.org/t/amazon-search/epomaker-th80-pro/qi:best-keyboard-under-100/1790488939/20d280856af6.021204090cfe3e5caf419de01075fcad) - [Check price at Walmart](https://answers.gainlyai.org/t/walmart-search/epomaker-th80-pro/qi:best-keyboard-under-100/1790488939/892a92728492.037fcde9d32b1773ac6e6d13e18304ef) - [Check price at Epomaker](https://answers.gainlyai.org/t/epomaker/epomaker-th80-pro/qi:best-keyboard-under-100/1790488939/6ce4eff05ef0.4ffef1a42e96473192aa970dc08aa327) Affiliate links: we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. [How we make money](https://answers.gainlyai.org/about). Last updated: 2026-08-28 How this page was made: the question is hand-written, and everything below it — the ranking, the comparisons, the price and stock observations — is computed by deterministic code from the same corpus our product pages render from. No model writes the analysis, and no editor re-orders the result.